Ends season as the ninth best men's long jumper in the country

EUGENE, Ore. (June 6, 2013) – ETSU junior Tyler Stepp (Dandridge, Tenn.) registered a mark of 7.79 meters to advance to the finals, but a pair of fouls and a regression in his last jump positioned him ninth overall in the men's long jump on Thursday at the NCAA Division I 2013 Outdoor Track & Field Championship at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Stepp’s 7.79m leap on his second jump to advance to the finals is identical to the NCAA Championship-qualifying score he tallied two weeks ago at the NCAA East Region Preliminaries. Today, the Dandridge native was unable reach his personal best of 7.80m, set earlier this outdoor season at the Sea Ray Relays, to move up in the standings.

Though he was unable to improve his score in the finals, finishing the season as the ninth best men's long jumper in the country is nothing to scoff at. The transfer notched numerous accomplishments this spring including earning First Team All-Atlantic Sun honors in the event and medaling gold at the 2013 A-Sun Outdoor Championships. The soon-to-be senior will surely have redemption at the NCAAs in mind and the ETSU school record of 7.93m in his sights for next season.

“Tyler [Stepp] did a great job making the finals of the long jump,” said ETSU Director of Track & Field/Cross Country George Watts. “I know he’s disappointed about not scoring, but he can hold his head high and he will be a contender next year. He made great progress this year and he understands the level of commitment necessary to become an NCAA scorer.”

No Buccaneers will be competing on Friday which leaves Jason Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa.) to wrap up action for ETSU at the Championship in the men's triple jump on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PST.

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